Upper Connecticut River Fishing Report: 5/14

Happy Mothers Day to all of those moms that cared for and nurtured us in our pursuit of all things fly fishing. We hope you’re able to spend time or speak with your mom at some point today.

What’s happening with the fishing? The general consensus over the last few days is that it has been on the slow side, especially as far as the Connecticut River goes. Here’s the skinny, and my thoughts on it for each section.

Magalloway Stretch between Second Connecticut Lake and First Connecticut Lake (currently flowing at 178 CFS).

This flow is a bit on the low side at the moment, but there are fish here. Just remember that they are salmon, and prone to long periods of seeming inactivity!

From the reports that we have heard, the best fishing is early in the morning and later on in the evening, when the lowest light conditions are hitting the water. Once the sun gets up high, the fish are typically reluctant to show themselves. Water temp in this section was 48 degrees yesterday afternoon, so we’re in the sweet spot for fish activity.

Lots of guys trying their luck nymphing yesterday, but I threw streamers for a couple of hours – one salmon landed and several other takes. The fly that worked best for me was a Black Ghost on a sinking leader. Perhaps it swam better than some of my other offerings, but they are salmon, and I’m not putting too much thought in to it.

The good news is that we’re supposed to get over an inch of rain today and tomorrow morning, which should liven things up a bit as the flow gets higher. Salmon love fast water, so that fresh water should get some fish moving.

Trophy Stretch between First Connecticut Lake and Lake Francis (currently flowing at 405 CFS).

Still more water than we like to see for this stretch, and it has not been stocked yet to the best of our knowledge. The Pittsburg Anglers Association will be stocking the Trophy Stretch next Sunday, so the fishing should be good after that, especially if the flow comes down to a reasonable level. If you are going to try it now, concentrate on the pools and runs from Junction Pool south to Lake Francis, as some trout and salmon may have come in from the lake.

Below Murphy Dam at Lake Francis (currently flowing at 1289 CFS).

That’s still a tremendous amount of water, and definitely not safe for wade fishermen. If it comes down to 600 CFS, or so, it’ll be game on, but until then, you might want to give this section a rest.

If you’re coming up in the next week or so, the outer brook trout ponds are a good option (Moose, Middle and Round are those that you can get to right now) – bring brightly colored streamers, and dry fly season could be any moment now.

Back Lake was good this weekend for rainbows for some of our guests – sounded like trolling with lures was working better than flies, but, once again, bright colors usually are best at this time of year.

Stop in at Tall Timber’s Fly Shop when you’re up – we have the flies, lures, and plenty of B.S. too!